Earlier this month, we celebrated when Mikael Samuelsson signed a contract to re-assimilate into the Borg in Detroit. The Red Wings are, after all, going to be featured on HBO’s 24/7, and something tells us that Samuelsson’s brutal honesty will make his interviews indispensable segments of the program.

If you don’t share our excitement, perhaps you need an example of this brutal honesty. Look no further than a recent interview Samuelsson did with Ronnie Johansson of HockeySvierge.Se, which can be found in the original Swedish here and originally translated by Canucks Army here. During the chat, the former Canuck made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the Canucks’ front office.

Had he not debuted in Vancouver with a 30-goal season, there’s a good chance that Mikael Samuelsson might have had the same relationship with Vancouver as, say, Jan Bulis. Like this blog’s namesake, Samuelsson was a pretty weird guy.

There were the stunningly blunt quotes, such as when he told the media where Sweden could go or that he was incapable of fighting; there were the bizarre on-ice decisions, such as his complete unpredictability when it came to holding, shooting, or passing the puck; there were the sudden bouts of on-ice rage, seemingly uncharacteristic for the guy insistent that his teammates play whistle to whistle. Mikael Samuelsson was a genuine enigma, and Canuck fans don’t generally have much time for guys like that.

Unless they outscore their weirdness. And, as I said, Mikael Samuelsson did that. The Swedish winger put up 48 goals and 103 points in his two seasons in Vancouver. He quarterbacked the powerplay (better than anyone else the Canucks employed, contrary to popular opinion — a point I never got to make), and he was a great backup winger for the twins.

The dude could play, and he scored some meaningful goals in a Canucks uniform. Here are his five best.

Kevin Bieksa gets a lot of press for being a great quote, but he’s not the only Canuck who can lay down a good line. Mikael Samuelsson has also developed something of a reputation as a go-to guy if you’re holding a microphone, although it’s not because of his one-liners — he’s just brutally honest.

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